DC Bar – Legal Beat, February 2010
News and Notes on the D.C. Bar Legal Community
By Kathryn Alfisi and Thai Phi Stone
Recession Severely Limits Access to Justice, Study Shows
On December 9 the District of Columbia Access to Justice Commission and the D.C. Consortium of Legal Services Providers released a report showing that even as the number of low-income residents seeking assistance grew in 2009, legal service resources were slashed.
The study, “Rationing Justice: The Effect of the Recession on Access to Justice in the District of Columbia,” revealed that the financial crisis has had dramatic effects on funding for legal aid programs. There was a 60 percent drop in Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) funds, a 20 percent cut in local government support for legal services, and a more than $1 million decrease in charitable donations and volunteer services.
The “devastating” budget cuts in 2009 are likely to only get worse in 2010. “It’s a very alarming time,” said Jessica Rosenbaum, the executive director of the Access to Justice Commission. She noted that throughout the year, legal aid organizations made provision of services a top priority, but to make that happen they instituted furloughs, layoffs, and salary cuts.
“The concern is that in 2010, all those options are gone. They don’t have reserves to go into again. When you have to cut, there isn’t that much to cut. You’re cutting into the bone,” Rosenbaum added.
At the time of the report’s release, an education reform project had been eliminated and the counseling services for a domestic violence program were reduced. In addition, 21 of the 170 lawyers working for legal aid organizations in the District, along with at least 30 nonlawyer staff, had been laid off. The outlook for 2010 also looks poor without the help of both private and public funding.
“We already have a $700,000 cut … That means that in 2010, we already have a loss of another eight lawyers or so beyond the 21 that we already lost,” said Peter Edelman, chair of the commission. “Whatever happens, if IOLTA is still down, if law firms and the lawyers don’t come through, we don’t get any help there, it’s possible that those things are even worse.”
While deep cuts have been made, the demand for assistance increased 20 percent over the past year as the recession’s effects took their toll. Foreclosures went up and debt collection was on the rise.
“This is about the needs of real people,” Edelman said. “This is about people who are going to lose their apartment if they don’t get a lawyer. Women who are victims of domestic violence won’t be able to escape that situation if they don’t get a lawyer. People are going to be denied benefits erroneously because they don’t get a lawyer. This is not abstract. Every one of these situations multiplies itself. It has a cascading effect on families.”
To read the full report, go to .—T.S.